Update Bernt

9 March 2021

Last season started for me with many plans, including of course a period on the OOSTERSCHELDE. When the first lock-down came, we all had high hopes for a normal summer. How different did that turn out. And what are you going to do if it turns out that there will be no sailing at all? The first months at home were quite relaxing. I still had work to finish for the Enkuizer Zeevaart School (EZS), the exams were done in a more or less normal way, but the re-exams were already quite a challenge.

In the meantime I had also started as ISM support at Rood Boven Groen, the ISM audits continued at the beginning of the summer, so I still had a bit of contact with the fleet. A very special job came through the EZS. A Portuguese tall ship, the Santa Maria Manuela, was looking for a way to learn to handle their ship better than they did. If the EZS could help out. I went with them for two weeks together with Klaas Gaastra, crew only, no guests. It was an honour to be asked as Dutchmen to help Portuguese sailors. We had a very nice trip; the only purpose was sailing.

Fortunately, later that year, the sea trials started again, so got to go back on the water on various ships. This also included Huisman’s 81-meter-long Sea Eagle II. A bit different compared to sailing on the OOSTERSCHELDE. Everything hydraulic with buttons, endless adjustment and trimming, endless all seemingly nonsensical details with hydraulic pressure and backstay tension. But sailing the North Sea at 17 knots for a day is really fun! When tacking, the speed dropped to 14 knots!

This winter the EZS started again with lessons at school in an adapted way, since December 18 this is completely digital. We were only allowed to physically hold the exams at school. Very special for a school where until last year the chalk on a blackboard was the norm. So now everything via teams, YouTube and recordings of lessons.